Shinobi Saga
by AznGalahad
Summary: A series of stories following the Naruto side characters relationships. Takes place during 'Where A Ninja Travels'. Note Kiba and Ino embark on a mission that teaches them things aren't what they seem to be.
1. Kiba and Ino : Crush

Where A Ninja Travels : Ino and Kiba Gaiden : Crush

* * *

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* * *

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_The blond, handsome, muscular shinobi scaled the walls of the impenetrable fortress. With only love as his guide he scaled the walls, coming into the room of his one love, AiAi. _

_The princess awoke at the sound of rustling bushes, her golden, disheveled hair parting to reveal the amber eyes that had capture many-a-ninja's hearts. _

_Seeing her condemned lover leaping over her balcony, she raced to him. They met in each other's arms, basking in their unconquerable love. _

_"Oh! Iko! My love!" She sobbed. Just being near to him, she felt her legs grow weak. This was her hero, her savior, her life's desire. He had rescued her before and now was doing it again._

_"Fret no more my princess, for I am here." He gently brushed her hair past her finely shaped ears. She smelled like lilies, and roses, and woman. It intoxicated him. "Even though this may be my last day alive, I would not spend it any other way than with you."_

_Hearing the sound of his alluring voice, she reached up to kiss him._

_His response was to sweep her into his arms. He set her upon the grand bed, and began to take off his tight leather armor._

"_But…what are you doing, Iko?" AiAi blushed, as blood flushed to her face. She knew what was happening, and she had awaited this moment._

"_Let us become one, AiAi. I would leave you with a gift." He whispered in her ears._

_He hovered over her, his naked chest rubbing against the silk nightgown of the princess._

_With a single movement, her clothes fell to the floor, discarded. _

_He kissed her savagely. It was as if fire consumed him. Lust and love had mixed together and both felt the irrestible urge to rip each other's garments off. _

_Off came the leather jerkins, the confining ninja outfit. _

_Off came the silk panties._

_She wore no bra, and he tasted of her melons. Her moans echoed in his ear._

_Parting her creamy thighs, he thrust his –_

"Ino, what are you reading? Your face is as red as a tomato!" Kiba leaned over the counter, peering at the book that Ino had tightly clutched to her chest. Akamaru barked next to his leg, in greetings.

"K-Kiba! What are you doing here!" Ino coughed out. Her face was red with embarrassment. She had been working in her family's flower shop, but no one had come in for the last half hour. Deeming it safe, she had withdrawn the book from her backpack and began to read. Entrapped in the imaginative world of the love story, she failed to notice a certain ninja walk step quietly into the store.

"What's that? Lemme see." Kiba reached over for the book. Before a stunned Ino could react, it was in his hands.

"Burning Desire: The Ninja chronicles." He scanned the cover. "An unforgettable tale of passion, betrayal, and never-ending love."

He flipped through the pages, looking for pictures. "Sounds boring." He didn't read much if it unless it was required. He could count the full number of books he had read with his hands and toes. There were more interesting things in life, like training or playing with Akamaru.

Stopping at a random page, he began to read again, the words spilling like blocks from his mouth. "Oh yes Iko don't stop don't stop ride me like a - "

"Kiba---!" Ino screeched.

He was too slow. Ino, the girl he secretly had a crush on, and whom he had just managed to scramble enough courage to ask out, had landed a solid right hook on his face. Ninja powers aside; it propelled him in the air and through the door from the flower shop.

Landing on his back, he stood up and rubbed his swollen cheek. Akamaru followed him out, and saw the bruise on his cheeks. The white dog jumped on his master, rapidly licking the bruise.

"What was that for!" He yelled out as he tried to pry Akamaru from his face. The dog was now too big that he could pounce on people. He reached up to his waist, and weighed almost as much as he did.

"Don't read my stuff ever again!" Her voice barked through the door. It slammed shut.

"B-but…what did I do?" He wondered. How could she be so mad over a book? He would have apologized if she had said so earlier. There went his chances for asking her to the Icha Icha movie.

"Oh, damn."

* * *

Ino fumed. If she were in a television.series, smoke would have been steaming from her ears. That dog boy had caught her when she was already flushed red with reading the book and the ensuing mumbling of words by Kiba had pushed her from her stunned state of just staring at him dazedly to ejecting him from her shop. 

"Arghhhh!" She couldn't get over it. Reading out loud! Those words! You can't do something like that, it was…it was…socially unacceptable! Or, it should be! He had spoiled the good part too!

Oh, he! – He frustrated her to no end. He was in the shop at least once a week, saying the he wanted to smell the flowers. But he never even bought them! A waste of her time! She should have developed the secret ability of being able to forget his presence by now, but every time he came he managed to irk her in some way. The small annoying glance her way, which was done for no reason at all except to bother her. She knew he knew it.

At least he didn't know what she was reading. If it were anyone else, they might have teased her endlessly. She bet he had never read over two books his entire life. And why was he always so dirt! Did he never shower? Did he not _have_ a shower? And everything he did annoyed her! It hadn't been that way when they were still in school together...but now...now he was intolerable in a facet of ways.

It would be a good while before Ino calmed down.

* * *

The next day Kiba sat down on a stool. "Two beef ramen please!" He said to the waitress. 

Akane nodded and gave the order to her father who was standing near the soup pot.

A moment later two steaming hot bowls of delicious ramen was placed in front of him. One was placed on the floor for Akamaru. He sniffed the one in front of him and let out a long sigh of contentment. After that accident with Ino, this was long in the waiting. Taking a pair of chopsticks from the counter, he began to slurp the noodles into his mouth. He barely managed to resist a groan as the mouthwatering noodles were chewed. They slid down his throat like honey.

"Kiba!" He heard someone yell. The voice sounded familiar to him…it was…

"Oh, no…" He quickly tried to finish the noodles as quick as he could taking bites. He almost choked as he tried to swallow three spoonfulls of ramen at once.

"Kiba!" Kurenai, his black haired red eyed and amazingly curvy team leader stepped behind him. "I've been looking all over for you! Where did you go?"

"Kurenai-sensei…ah, I went to the flower shop?" Slurp slurp, the last of the ramen went into his stomache.

"The flower shop? Don't lie to me, there's no reason you would go there. And you've been gone for _one whole day_." Kurenai said. She took a breathe before the spoke again. "Missions have been rescheduled. You were supposed to report for a knew one yesterday, but since no one was able to find you, Shino and Hinata already left."

"Eh! Kurenai-sensei, just the two of them?"

"No, Chouji went with them." She sounded exasperated.

"Chouji?" Kiba wanted to laugh, but a look from Kurenai stopped him cold.

"Yes, Chouji. And you – you missed the mission."

"Sorry, sorry! I was just busy!"

"Busy with what."

"Ah, stuff." He didn't want to speak of his little accident with Ino. He didn't even want to think of it; his face turned red whenever he remembered Ino slamming the door in his face.

"What st - " She sounded exasperated. "Forget it. I'm leaving for my own mission in a few minutes with Asuma. I won't be back for a few days."

"Oh."

"You go talk with Tsunade-sama right now, and apologize for what you did yesterday."

"What'd I do!"

"You made her wait a full fifteen minutes – you made everyone wait fifteen minutes - thinking that you would show up. A wasted fifteen minutes."

"But – but!"

"No buts! Your becoming lazy and your recent training has been lacking." Grabbing the collar of his jacket, she dragged him from his stool. "Now you go. Now."

Kiba's head was down. Kurenai-sensei, when she was mad, was no fun at all. Normally she was nice, but when she was like this...

"Yah, I'll go…" He sighed. He thanked Akane and waved goodbye.

Akamaru had finished his noodles and was quiet. His tail was not wagging. He knew what a mad Kurenai was capable of too. The time that he had accidentally bit her when he was young, the memories still made him shiver.

Kurenai pointed her finger at the direction of the main building.

"Akamaru! Let's go."

Kiba left the Ichiraku ramen shop behind as he trudged along. It's not that he meant to be gone the entire day. After the accident with Ino, he had gone over to a deserted field near Konoha where he often went alone with Akamaru. There was something in being alone and staring at the sky that relaxed him.

He also trained there. All through the night he had continued his secret training. Usually he trained with Hinata and Shino, but the new technique he was learning…he wanted it to be a secret. If they found out or if Kurenai-sensei found out, they wouldn't definitely stop him.

He continued past the stores and the stands that were set up. It was a busy afternoon, and many of the villagers were out and enjoying themselves. Sniffing the air, he smelled tofu and takoyaki. It was a sometimes unpleasant ability to have a magnified olfactory sense when you were unable to eat all the food you wanted. A few kids onbliviously bumped into him and ran away while making funny faces. Damn brats.

He wondered what Ino was doing. Maybe if he waited for her to cool down, he could ask her later? But no…he knew he wouldn't. He had already gone into the flower shop before; each time a failure. He just couldn't come to ask Ino out. He knew she was the type of girl that only liked the cool handsome guys, and he wasn't.

He continued to mull over his faults as he reached the main building. Walking inside, he traveled around and found the stairs headed up.

As he headed into the Hokage's office, a familiar voice came through the narrow slit of the door. It wasn't Kurenai, for sure.

"Akamaru, shh." He quieted his dog.

He leaned closer, and placed his ear surface of the entrance, listening. It was Ino!

"Eh! I have to go with him! Why him! He's a no-good dog boy! And he's annoying too! What about Chouji and Shikamaru?" Ino said.

Outside the door, Kiba blushed and turned red. He knew whom she was talking about, and it felt like a weight in his gut, a horrible sinking feeling that turned him hot and cold at the same time. While he didn't want to listen anymore, his ear was glued to the door.

The distinct voice of Tsunade-sama echoed in the wood, its vibrations thrumming into his ear. "You should have heard that Chouji left on a separate mission with Shino and Hinata yesterday. And Shikamaru has other duties, being a chuunin."

"But why-!"

Some papers rustled, as if someone were flipping through them.

"According to the record." Ah, so he was right. "You took the last mission off because your dad came back injured and you wanted to care for him. Now that he's fine, and even taken a mission _himself_, I don't see why should go free."

"I know…but…with him…I have a problem with him!" Ino said.

"And that is?" Tsunade was curious. Though she was the Hokage, she was also a terrible gossiper. She and Shizune were feared among the village gossip circles.

"I, ah…" Ino delayed. She didn't want to mention the flower shop visits, or the mortifying accident that happened yesterday. No one knew except her…and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Ah…he….um…he's arrogant!" She fumbled for the answer. "And annoying and loud! He's worse that Naruto is!"

Kiba felt the stone in his stomach become heavier. Mean? Yah he was sometimes, but…he tried to be less so around her…

"Really? I've talked to Kiba a number of times, and I would agree with you."

Eh! Her too! Kiba thought.

"However, as a ninja you should not be affected by such a small matter like that."

"B-but."

"If the village were to be attacked tomorrow and I assigned you on a crucial mission with Kiba, what would you do then?"

A mission with him? He would have liked that a while ago, but after hearing this…he wanted to go away and bury himself.

"Well…ah…I would go."

"Good. Your beginning to see my way."

"Oh…okay." Ino gave up. She had put up a good fight. Although, saying 'no, no, he's annoying' couldn't truly be considered that great.

"Kiba, you can come in now. I've been waiting for you."

Oh, crap. He was spotted! She was the Hokage after all, she probably knew whoever entered the _building_. But…Ino was in there…and…

He opened the double doors and walked in, closing the doors as he entered. Akamaru followed in behind him.

As he came in he saw a smiling Tsunade-sama and a shocked Ino.

Ino of course, had reason to be shocked.

_Oh no_, she grimaced. _Don't tell me he actually heard me…_She saw the look on Kiba's face. A mixture of anger and embarrassment. Yup, he had heard.

"So, I'm going on a mission with Ino…" He trailed off. He hadn't even bothered to look or say hi to Ino. He thought that if he glanced at her, the rush of blood to his face would kill her. Hearing someone you liked talk poorly about you behind your back wasn't the most pleasant of situations. Having to face them right afterwards, well….

"Yes. It will be a three-man team. A simple B-rank mission.

"B?" B-rank missions weren't difficult…for a jounin. He was still a genin after all. He should have been limited to C-rank and D-rank missions.

"Yes. B-rank mission. B-rank is different from C-rank and D-rank because there will be confrontation with ninja."

"But isn't that above the genin level?" He asked.

"It is above what I would normally assign a genin. But after observing your progress, I feel as if you two are ready to slowly ease into B-rank missions. I also expect you to pass the following Chuunin exams of course."

Psh, he thought. He bet she just wanted more people to do some of the more dangerous missions. Ever since last year the number of missions that he had received nearly doubles. Everyone else was in the same situation. But…he knew it was for the good of the village. "Then...three genin on a B-rank mission?"

"No. There will be a chuunin that will accompany you."

At this, Ino's head pricked up. "Who?" She asked. Though she had known a chuunin would be coming, she didn't know who.

"Yes, I think now is a good time for you to meet him." Tsunade waved her hand at something.

Kiba and Ino turned to see who it was, but didn't see anyone else in the room besides themselves. Turning back to Tsunade they saw that a young man in his twenties had suddenly appeared. He wore the traditional ninja clothing of the village.

"This is Iko."

The man nodded.

Kiba recognized the name. Wasn't it the name from the book that Ino was reading? He forgot the words, but it went something like 'Iko riding?' He gave the guy a dirty look. He could be Ino's brother. Just with a quick glance Kiba could already tell that this guy was probably the cool silent type. Like that Sasuke. He clenched his hands. All the girls fawned over him.

Ino on the other hand was having some very different thoughts. She thought the entrance was cool. Very cool. Forgetting the presence of Kiba and Tsunade-sama, she gazed at him. Blond hair, blue eyes, and skin that practically glowed, she wanted to fawn over him. He was like the dreamy ninja she had always wanted to save her. How had she never seen him. His mere presence made her light headed. And his name…it was the main character of many a ninja-romance novel. She was already placing him in book situations.

"Hi…" She said shyly.

Kiba was silent. He had looked to Ino for the first time and saw the capture look of her eyes. He wanted to barf. He wanted to leave. He wanted to beat the man up, badly.

"My name is Iko. I will be leading this team. It's nice to you meet you." He bowed.

Ino blushed. His voice was like water sparkling. It entranced her. "Nice t-to…to meet you."

"Hey." Kiba said. He had crossed his arms defensively.

"Iko has been chuunin for a few years. You can learn a lot with his experience."

A tense silence filled the air, neither Kiba speaking nor Ino.

"Since I haven't told Kiba what the mission is yet, I'll repeat it. There is a small village a day's travel from here that is being terrorized by some bandits. They wouldn't have trouble normally but it seems some minor ninja has joined with them. Go there and give those bandits a lesson." Tsunade interrupted the awkward silence in the room.

She continued, "I have another meeting soon. The three of you should get ready to leave by this afternoon."

The three ninjas turned to Tsunade and nodded.

"If you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to before I leave. I will meet you at the front gate in three hours." Iko said to Kiba and Ino. "Tsunade-sama." He bowed once to her and left.

Kiba gave a sigh of disgust and stepped out of the room with Akamaru. He didn't want to be there anymore. Everything had been going wrong lately.

Ino bowed once to Tsunade and left.

* * *

"You think he's stupid too Akamaru?" Kiba asked his dog. 

Akamaru barked out a yes.

"Yah. Just look at the way Ino was looking at him." Kiba was mad. He knew Ino would never like him. They were different in too many ways. Though they had been in the same class together the two of them didn't know each other that well. But after they had become genin…Kiba had found himself strangely visiting the flower shop to see if Ino was working there. It was a new feeling and he hadn't known what to do. His sister had told him to ask her out for a movie or something. Though she had been laughing the entire time she was advising him. But…this feeling, he couldn't put it down, he just couldn't forget her. It drove him crazy.

Akamaru tried to comfort him by nudging his hand. It didn't work.

He walked home to tell his mom that he was going to go on a mission. His mom didn't ask many questions about what he did, but she liked to know.

He passed by the Ichiraku ramen shop and as he walked farther away he passed the flowers shop. He slowed down as he passed.

Turning the corner to the street where he lived, he saw his old school teacher Iruka walking alone in the opposite direction. What was he doing?

"Iruka-sensei!" Kiba waved wildly in the air. Akamaru barked alongside him. Iruka-sensei had always been a nice teacher, albeit a bit boring. Most of the classes he taught, Kiba had fallen asleep.

Iruka peered around to see who was calling him. "Kiba! Akamaru!" He walked over to them.

"Where are you going Kiba?" Iruka said as he bent down to pat Akamaru. It had been some time since he had to squat to pat the dog.

"Ah, well I just got a mission so I haveta go home and tell my parent's and pack and stuff." Kiba said. "What about you, Iruka-sensei?"

"I just finished teaching and was feeling a little hungry. I felt like I wanted ramen so I decided to headed to Ichiraku's." As if on cue, his stomache rumbled loudly. He gently rubbed it into submission. "So Kiba, what kind of mission is this?"

"A B-rank mission." He said proudly.

"B-rank?" Iruka was curious. It wasn't often that genin received B-rank missions.

"Yah, we have to go to some village and beat up some bandits."

"That would be a high C-rank mission though."

"Tsunade-sama says there's some ninja there that's helping them. Nothing big."

Iruka gave a big 'ahh' of understanding.

"Iruka-sensei, you spend so much time teaching how long has it been since you've gone on a mission?"

"Teaching itself should be a A-rank mission. Teaching you, I remember, would classify as S-rank."

"I was an okay student!"

"You slept in every other class."

"…"

"So who is going with you? Hinata and Shino?"

"No. They had some other mission to go to so I'm going with Ino and some chuunin named Iko."

"Iko?" Iruka narrowed his eyes. "Blond hair blue eyes."

"Yah, so what?"

"Hmm, I've been on a mission with him once."

"Really! How was he?"

"He was…how should I saw…why did Tsunade-sama pair you two with him?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm a little apprehensive about him. He's the type that follows the rules absolutely. And…"

"And…" Kiba waited for the ending.

"He has a cruel streak."

"?"

"I remember when he and I went on a mission together we had to defeat a ninja who ambushed us. He…needlessly tortured the ninja after he was defeated. It's a side that he doesn't show often."

"Really…" Kiba couldn't imagine Iko doing anything like that. But cool people like him were always a bit strange.

"Well, I shouldn't be talking about others behind their back. I'm sure Tsunade-sama knows what she's doing."

Iruka gave one last pat to Akamaru. "Take care. You should hurry and pack or else you'll run out of time."

"Ah. Bye Iruka-sensei." Kiba waved goodbye as Iruka walked past him, and turned the corner towards the ramen store.

* * *

_Tsunade _: Hehe...I sense some teenage drama...Shizune will love this.

* * *

This is a inter-chapter thats 1/2. I like the lighter feeling of writing this. I'm trying knew writing styles too...though it doesn't seem like I am. 

Tell me how you like Kiba/Ino! I appreciate the feedback...

And for those wondering...Iko is in for this chapter and the next chapter only...he won't be any more than that...

Extra add : I've moved this from Where A Ninja Travels to improve story fluency.


	2. Kiba and Ino : Of Rivers and Ramen

Kiba and Ino Gaiden 2 : Ramen and Rivers

* * *

Kiba sifted through the bag of supplies that he had brought with him. Water, maps, matches, toilet paper, doggy food, spare briefs, stuff that he normally brought with him. His feet hung over the edge of the hard granite stairs he sat; he tapped them impatiently against the stone, Akamaru asleep on his lap. 

He was slightly mad. Slightly. No, scratch that. If he had some enemy ninja here, they would all be begging for their lives.After waiting for over two hours, neither Ino or that Iko had come. He had waited alone, and it had been a long, long two hours. Even Akamaru had fallen asleep on his lap after waiting for so long. Did they forget? He could understand Ino, she could come up with a few reasons, but a chuunin? Wasn't being on time some chuunin prerequisite?

He stretched his head, and fell over as he saw the disgustingly bright face of Iko mere inches from his face. He felt like puking. Akamaru jumped from his lap barking, just before Kiba fell face-flat on the floor.

"You idiot! Don't surprise me like that!" Kiba yelled. It had shocked him that he had managed to get so close without him knowing. Was that what a chuunin was like?

"Kiba! Iko-sensei was just joking with you, don't yell at him."

Kiba tilted his head some more and saw Ino standing behind Iko. Had they…arrived together? Was that why there were late?

"Sen…sensei? Why are you calling him sensei!" Kiba said, dusting off the dust from his jacket as got up.

"Well, I can't call him anything else, and sensei seemed the best." Ino sounded as if she were on helium.

Kiba wanted to barf. He had enough of this. Crush or no crush, for the entirety of this mission, he wouldn't let his emotions effect him. He'd let her fawn all over that idiot if she wanted to. It was _her_ life, not his.

"Well, why were you late." Kiba said.

"Only around an hour or so." Iko said, smiling. Kiba blinked a few times, the bright teeth of the chuunin nearly blinded him.

Ugh, I don't want him to talk to me, Kiba though. "Only one hour. Why don't you just come tomorrow instead!"

"Kiba, don't be such a spoilsport. At least we're here." Ino stepped forwards, stopping next to Iko. To Kiba, it was uncomfortably close, but he ignored the feeling, even if it put lumps in his stomach. Large lumps.

"Kiba, was it?" Iko said. Kiba had shifted his head to avoid being blinded again. "This is both you and Ino's first mission, so I wanted to take some time to prepare some things I needed. I would have come earlier, but I saw Ino walking in the streets and she asked me to help her close the flower shop."

Kiba stared at him. "And you helped her." His voice was thick was disbelief. "It's not like she's useless, she can do that herself."

"It…it helped me a lot." Ino said. She was gazing upwards at Iko with those goggle eyes again. Kiba gagged on his next words.

"Fine, fine. Whatever. I don't care. Let's just get going." He grumbled, crossing his shoulders. "Akamaru! Let's go!" Akamaru barked and obediently followed his master. Kiba walked out through the open gates of the village and into the forest outside.

Iko's melodic voice stopped him before he placed his foot on the dirt. It screeched on his ears like nails on a chalkboard.

"And Kiba, do you know where to go?" Iko asked, a small laugh in his tone.

Kiba turned around, lips tightened. "N-no."

"Then follow me." Iko walked past a disgruntled Kiba, leading the way into the forest.

Ino followed, slowing down to talk with Kiba, who had chosen to trail Iko. "Ah, isn't he great." She sighed.

Kiba crossed his arms in further disgust than before. Would the fawning never end? "What's so great about him?" He murmured in a tone of envy.

Ino didn't catch the underlying jealousy of Kiba. She was too intoxicated at Iko's presence. "He's…young…good-looking…strong…good-looking…"

"And that's it?" Kiba asked with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "And that's all girls are looking for these days?"

"Well if you ever had a girlfriend you would know wouldn't you?"

"Che. He's not that special. So he looks good, big deal. His personality probably sucks. They usually do."

Ino had taken one last trailing stare at the firm behind of Iko before she snapped out of her trance. Why was Kiba talking about someone so poorly behind their backs? He normally didn't talk this way about anyone unless he really disliked them, and he had known Iko for all of a few hours. "If I had to guess, it sounds like your jealous."

"Me. Jealous. I'm laughing right now. Ha. Ha." Kiba laughed loudly.

"Most boys want to be like Sasuke after all. Or Iko-sensei." She gave a smaller, quiet sigh at his name.

"Yah well look what happened to Sasuke. And no. Not many guys want to be like that guy over there." Kiba said, pointing an index finger at Iko.

"It's better than smelling like dog all day long. Don't you ever take a shower?"

"Every day. E-ver-y day." He replied. Did Ino think he stunk? He thought he had pretty good hygiene himself. He brushed his teeth for five minutes in the morning and the night. He showered once a day if he could, and Akamaru always showered with him, so he was clean too. So what was so bad. He shook his head. He had told himself he wouldn't do this.

"It's not the same. You don't smell like…" Ino trailed off.

"Like him, right." Kiba said.

"Of course not. It's not like I'm obsessed or anything. You obviously don't know anything."

"…Maybe I don't."

"Gah." Ino gave up. Kiba was too pig-headed for her.

They two of them walked in silence most the next few hours. It was a nice journey, similar to a hike. The sun was bright out, and a pleasantly cool wind blew, a perfect example of a perfect summer day. Up ahead, Iko was deep in thought. Behind him, Ino was thinking whether or not she should walk with her Iko-sensei instead. And besides her, Kiba was thinking how crappy a mission this was going to be.

Iko suddenly stopped, Kiba and Ino nearly bumping into him as they were both lost in their own thoughts.

"Why'd you stop all'ova sudden?" Kiba asked.

"I want to talk to you two." Iko said.

"What is it, Iko-sensei?" The words trailed off Ino's lips like sweet honey.

Kiba's eyes twitched.

"Let's continue walking first. We can talk as we go." The three of them began to walk again in unison. Kiba stood between Ino and Iko. It was a unconscious decision on his part. Even though he had told himself he wouldn't care for this mission, some part of him still didn't want Ino to close to this bastard.

"Yes, Iko-sensei?" Ino asked past a silent Kiba.

"Since this is our first mission together, I want to know more about you to."

"Eh!" Ino was excited, she felt as if she were on seventh heaven. Iko-sensei wanted to know more about her. "Like what?" She asked excitedly.

"Abilities, any special techniques. If we understand each other we can better utilize our strengths and minimize or weaknesses. Though for this mission we probably won't need that level of teamwork, it is best that we prepare ourselves for all possible contingencies."

Ino deflated, falling down to earth. That was it, She wondered. "Well…I…"

"Kiba, would you like to speak first?" Iko asked.

Ino felt herself take an invisible super punch to the gut.

Kiba pursed his lips, not wanting to answer. He breathed in deeply, reminding himself that since this was a mission, then for the mission he could _try _his best to get along, especially since this was the team leader. After all he would be working with this man for the next day or so.

"Well…Well, my..ah..techniques revolve around Akamaru and me." He began.

Iko looked down to see Akamaru between him and Kiba. He reached down to pet the dog. "You mean this cute - "

Akamaru bit his hand as brought it close, eliciting a scream from Ino. For a split second, Kiba was frozen as pure fear kept rooted down. It was…a strong killing attention. As soon as it came it was gone. What the hell was that, he thought.

"Kiba, Akamaru bit Iko-sensei!" She said overly loud. "Iko-sensei, are you ok?" Her eyebrows were pinched in worry.

Iko coughed once, clearing his throat. "I'm fine…I've never been that great with pets to begin with."

"Akamaru, why'd you bite him? Sorry, Iko, Akamaru isn't normally like that." Kiba asked. He reached down to pat the head of Akamaru in what seemed to be a reprimanding gesture. _Good boy, Akamaru_. Kiba winked at his faithful companion.

"Well…let's continue again where we ended." Iko said, still rubbing his hand together.

Kiba wondered what Ino would say or do if he injured himself too. He guessed it would be different than that wide-eyed 'ahhh-your-hurt-let-me-heal-you' looks from Ino.

"What was it that you and Akamaru can do together?" Iko asked, his hands in his pockets. He was wary of letting them hang too close to Akamaru again.

"Um…" Kiba scratched his cheeks, thinking. "We can do combo attacks together, things like that. Me and him work as a team." He reached into one of his side pockets and withdrew a few pills.

"We take these soldier pills in fights sometimes too."

"Interesting…I've used those myself on a few missions." Iko's eyes closed in thought for a second. "What else can you do? Any other abilities?"

"Well…I have a good sense of smell. I've developed it since I was young."

Ino laughed out loud.

Iko and Kiba turned their heads to stare at her with questions in their eyes.

"Why are _you_ laughing?" Kiba asked.

Ino couldn't stop laughing. Thinking of Kiba's idiot antics always gave her a good laugh. "Re-re-remember that one time at the Chuunin exam."

"What time?" Iko asked, interested.

"The one time Kiba was fighting Naruto, he gave Naruto an opening because he farted in Kiba's face." Ino laughed again. "Some ninja ability, more like a ninja defect to me."

Kiba blushed. Had she been using that one embarrassing moment to judge him in terms of ninja capabilities?

"I am a tracking specialist. It's what I do." Kiba mumbled.

"Yah, yah." Ino's stomach gave one last rumble before she calmed down.

Iko was filing all this information away in his mind. "That's very interesting, Kiba."

"Anything else you want to say?"

"…no."

"Then, Ino would you explain to us what you can do?"

Ino blushed a little. Iko-sensei finally asked her a question. She returned to her cloud paradise. "Well…I can take control over other people for a moment."

This interested Iko, more so than Kiba did. "Like how?"

"Well, it's confusing how it really happens, but I can eject my ahh…spirit energy…into another person, and control their actions for a small period of time." Ino said. She had never studied on how things like that actually happened. The use and application was good enough for her. Everything else was for people like Sakura to handle.

"Ah…you mean the mind body switch technique? I've heard of that one." Iko said. It was a move that was unique to Konoha. Very few people outside were capable of using it. "You must be a fearsome ninja indeed."

"Yup!" Ino wanted to faint from the praise. In fact, she practically swooned on her feet, it took all her willpower to keep herself standing.

Kiba laughed. "As if. It misses half the time and has a low duration."

"Kiba!"

"Not only that but you can't even damage the person. It is only useful in information retrieval or spying."

Ino grumbled. How dare he insult her in front of Iko-sensei! "I'm better than you at least."

"You wish."

She stuck her tongue at him.

"Now, now, don't argue. We have to cooperate." Iko smiled at them. To Ino, it was if the sun was rising.

Ino flung her head back like a truck hit her. This was her Iko-sensei, her kind, kind Iko-sensei.

Kiba wanted to hurl when he saw Ino's expression. He began to get mad at this blond chuunin again.

"What can you do?" Kiba asked.

Iko didn't seem to be expecting to be the one asked. He took time considering, placing his chin between his fingers in a thinking gesture. As soon as he was done, he gave a small answer. "Nothing flashy. I can only use basic ninja techniques, thought people say I use them pretty well."

"You must have - " Kiba was cut off by Iko mid-sentence.

"Let's rest. It should be dark soon. The bandits won't leave tomorrow."

Looking up, Kiba noticed the sky was turning dark. In the horizon, the sun had begun to dip under and was half gone. It was strangely beautiful, the yellow mixing in with the blue, pink, and purple to produce a symphony of colors.

"Yah, let's rest. I'm hungry too." Ino yawned.

"Fine." Kiba gave up. He wouldn't mind traveling some more, his body used to the continuous walking, but everyone else seemed to have different ideas.

They picked a nice secluded area in the forest, covered by trees, and unpacked. After setting up the campfire and tents, Iko had announced he wanted to scout ahead a little. He left Ino and Kiba behind, telling them he might not be back until later. Ino went to forage some food, complaining in her hunger she would kill a bear and eat it. Kiba, not caring to forage in the wilderness for food on such a short mission, had taken out the cup ramen and dog food he packed.

Placing the canned doggy food on the floor, a disgusted Akamaru walked up and sniffed it, and licked it once, before an expression of horror was plastered on his canine face. Akamaru stared hungrily at Kiba's ramen before turning to finish his dog food. Kiba never shared his precious ramen when they were out on a mission. He could have hunted for some bird or other animal instead, but Kiba had brought this doggy food with him and packed it with love. Bracing himself, Akamaru dug in, and the food almost dug back out.

Boiling some water in a small iron pot, Kiba poured the hot water into his cup ramen. Stirring it with the discardable chopsticks he had brought, he closed his eyes and sniffed the aromatic scent. Yes, having an enhanced ability to smell was definitely worth all the other pains.

But he smelled something else to…it was faint…it smelled like spring flowers, like a zephyr breeze. What was it? Opening his clamped eyes barely, he came face to face with a drooling Ino. He fell back, barely holding onto his ramen.

"Ino! What are you doing!" Kiba asked, shocked. Wasn't she out foraging for food or something? Looking at her, she hadn't brought anything back with her.

"Ahh," She started off ,"You see… I never bring rations or pre-packed food because usually Chouji and Shikamaru look for food…I never really paid attention when Chouji went to look for food so I thought it was easy."

"And?" Kiba protectively inched his priceless ramen back. He had only packed one cup…

"Well…it's harder than I thought it was…and I couldn't find anything to eat."

"So…" Kiba began to understand what she wanted…

"It's…" Ino swallowed as she gazed longingly at Kiba's ramen. "Ah…I was wondering if you could share…"

He knew it. "No." He_ never _shared his mission-ramen. Not even for Akamaru. It was one of his few pleasures in life.

"But…" Ino began, stopping when she noticed the determined visage of Kiba. Her shoulder's slumped in defeat. _Maybe,_ she thought, _I could control him with my technique and eat the ramen…he'd still be full, wouldn't he? _

She shook her head. What was she thinking? Who actually thought of stuff like that? Chouji was the one that was supposed to be obsessed with food, not her. But she was so hungry…

Ino sighed and moved across Kiba, sitting down. She stared at his ramen as she thought how she could get something to eat.

Kiba had raised the ramen wrapped chopsticks to his mouth, only to stop when he saw the way Ino was staring at him. Or rather, his ramen. He struggled with himself, his stomach engaged in a fearsome war with his heart. While he didn't want to share…he didn't want her to go hungry…and she was a girl…it was probably worse for her…damnit! He told himself he wasn't going to let his crush on her affect any of his decisions! Damnit, damnit, damnit!

He placed the chopsticks back into cup, wanting to cry from the closeness that it had been to his mouth. He couldn't eat it, not like this with her staring with those beautiful, beautiful blue…no…aquamarine…eyes. He'd feel too guilty.

"Ino."

"…Y-yah..." Ino was still staring intently at the ramen.

"You can have some of my ramen." Kiba whispered.

"…What did you say…" She was still staring at the ramen, Kiba's words came fuzzy to her.

"You," He braced himself, "Can have my ramen."

"R-really?" Ino didn't believe her luck. She had thought Kiba was going to torture her by eating the mouth-watering ramen where she could see.

He held out the ramen, his faced turned to the side. He didn't want to witness his precious ramen taken away. "Yes. You can have half."

Before he could say anything else, the ramen was snatched from his hands like a mouse on cheese. _She's fast!_ He thought

Ino dipped the chopsticks into the still steaming broth, bringing up delicious noodles. She practically moaned as the wet noodles slid down her throat. Ahh, this feeling was great. Maybe Kiba wasn't so bad after all, since he was willing to share.

Kiba stared at Ino as she devoured his ramen. Thought it was hard to watch…he couldn't keep his eyes off. The way her beautiful bone structure moved. She had such a beautiful way of eating…

Ino polished off five-eighths of the noodles before passing the cup back to Kiba. "Thanks Kiba, woooo, that was great."

"No problem." Kiba accepted the ramen. He stared inside the watery depths. He hadn't thought about it until then…but if Ino had eaten with these chopsticks…it would be an indirect kiss! He had never kissed anyone that wasn't family before. He had shared food before too, but this was different.

He gulped.

Raising some noodles to his lips, he opened his mouth…only to fall forwards as something heavy jumped on his back. He splayed his arms out, catching himself. However, the ramen wasn't as lucky.

"Akamaru! You ruined my noodles!" The cup had spilt its contents all over the floor. The broth seeped into the dirt and the noodles were already dirtied beyond any possible redemption. He could feel the tears swell at the corners of his eyes.

"Akamaru…you…" Kiba sat up slowly, his head down. The fires of vengeance burned in him. "Come back here!" He chased a fleeing Akamaru.

Akamaru barked out a laugh. Served him right for sharing his noodles with a girl when he wouldn't share it with him! He knew Kiba liked that girl, but still, he had been with Kiba since he was a young pup! This was merely revenge for the ramen. He skipped away as Kiba chased after him.

Half an hour later Kiba, covered with dirt and sweat, gave up on the chase and returned to camp. He would let Akamaru return when he wanted to. He still had some small snacks that he had packed that would last him a day or so, though none of it tasted as good as ramen did. It would have to do, he knew, unless he wanted to spend more time looking for things to eat.

Iko still hadn't returned, and Ino had disappeared from camp. _Where did she go_, he wondered. _Probably went to look for her Iko-sensei. _

Even though it was dark outside, he could tell it wasn't too late. Knowing there was a small river nearby since they passed it on the way here, Kiba decided to take a short bath. In this weather at the peak of summer, even at night the water wouldn't freeze his skin like it normally would during the other seasons.

He checked the camp again, making sure that there weren't any animals digging through the camp supplies, then made his way towards the river.

The moonlight acted as a guide for him, outlining trees with shadows as he made his way through. It was only a short distance away, and it comforted Kiba to listen to the sounds of the night, a owl hooting, grasshoppers playing, as he walked past. He often liked to sleep outside with Akamaru, and enjoy the wilderness.

Seeing the river up ahead, he began to strip down.

"Lucky!" He said. No one was at the river. Not that he expected anyone to be, but Iko or Ino could have been here. He unbuttoned his jacket and placed it on branch along with his pants, briefs, and shoes. The river itself was around thirty meters wide. It had steep sandy sides that dropped considerably downwards. A good percentage of the water had been evaporated with the summer heat. If someone were lying on the side of the river, the bank of the river would have been high enough to hide them in the night.

The cool river water tickled his toes as he waded into the waist deep area of the river near the bank. He scrubbed himself, allowing the accumulated dirt to wash away. Relaxing on the riverbank, he closed his eyes for a moment, letting the fresh water massage him.

* * *

Ino returned to camp with a few handful of blueberries. They had been hard to find, especially since it was dark, but her hunger had driven her to levels she hadn't realized she could reach. She sat down besides the campfire on the grass, and began to eat them. 

"Where is everyone?" Ino thought out loud. Iko hadn't come back, and Kiba was probably still out chasing Akamaru. She laughed as she remembered Kiba spilling his ramen. Maybe it would have been better if she had eaten all the noodles herself.

As she finished her berries, she heard a rustle to her side.

"Who's there!" She jumped up; the last berries fell to the floor, forgotten.

From the bushes, Akamaru emerged. The dog walked towards Ino, then sniffed the fallen blueberries. He licked them up.

"Oh, it's just you." She petted Akamaru and the white furred canine wagged his tail, thumping the floor with his excitement.

Ino sat back down. Akamaru tried to lick her soft face, but she pushed him away, giving him the finger of disapproval with a firm 'no'.

She continued to sit that way, staring at the crackling fire as she thought of what else she could do. Sleep was an option, but she wasn't tired. And she was full now, after eating the ramen and then so many berries. And Iko-sensei wasn't here. Playing with Akamaru was too much work.

_Hmm, _she thought_, maybe I should take a bath. _

There was a nearby river that they had passed, and she was sure that in a place as remote as this, no one would be there.

"Yah, I guess I'll take a shower then…" She patted Akamaru, giving him an order. "Akamaru, be a good boy and watch the camp, alright?"

Akamaru vigorously nodded, licking Ino's face before she could move.

"Ugh, now I _really _have to bathe."

She ambled off towards the river. The night was dark, and she barely avoided bumping into trees. Seeing the river in front of her, she walked to a tree and undressed. Placing her clothes on the branch, she walked towards the river. The riverbank was pretty steep, she thought. It must have been the summer heat.

As her foot dug into the soft sand of the river bank, her next step caused her to trip over something in the dark. She fell on her face, splashing violently into the water like a drowning cat.

"What the hell!" Ino said. What had she tripped over? A log? The steep bank had most likely covered most of it and she couldn't see in the dark.

"God damnit!" She screamed. Grabbing hold of the log she fell over, she propped herself up. Except…the log was warm…and it was soft like…

Inu froze, petrified like a stone sculpture as the sudden realization hit her.

_Oh. Hell. No._

She slowly shifted her head backwards; afraid of what she would see. There, in the buff, was a stunned and shocked Kiba. A naked, stunned, and shocked Kiba, whose mouth was hanging down to his chest.

"I-IYAAAA!" Ino covered her porcelain skin as much as she could with her hands, waving them around in front of her like tentacles in hopes of diverting the riven gaze of Kiba. She bowled over a still shocked Kiba, running back up the steep bank as if she were chased by a army of enemy jounin. Seeing something that looked like clothes, she grabbed it any ran away.

Her screams of terror echoed in the forest, slowly fading.

Meanwhile, Kiba sat there stunned. He had been napping for a moment in the water when something had hit his side. Opening his eyes, he had seen Ino's naked behind as she lifted herself up using his leg. Though she hadn't worn any clothes, it was dark enough that he had only seen an outline of her body.

Then he had seen and heard as she turned around, revealing more of her naked body, and run away screaming.

On a rank of 1-10 on the most shocking things in his life, this most definitely rated a 100.

Five minutes later he gathered his bearings and stood up. Turning around, he plodded towards where he had left his clothes – only to find that it was gone!

On next tree down, Kiba saw another stack of clothes. He picked it up, sifting through the articles of clothing.

A small purple shirt. It was definitely Ino's.

Dark pants. Kiba gulped as he lifted the next garments. A bra. His mouth became dry. He blushed and set it back down. He couldn't look through a girls clothing. His own clothes were missing, and Ino's clothes were smaller than his size. Now what would he do?

* * *

Ino hid behind the flap of her tent. She had taken the _wrong_ clothes. How could she have been so stupid as to take the wrong clothes. Berating herself didn't help however. Kiba had seen her naked. The last man to see her naked was her dad when he used to bathe her. That was over ten years ago! 

She huddled in the fur jacket of Kiba's that she had thrown on. It smelled like dog and sweat. In a way…it was kind of…

Footsteps were heard outside, and Akamaru began barking. Ino darted her head out of the tent for a peak. Kiba had come back. She clenched her teeth. He had come back wearing her clothes. It didn't even fit him! Her purple shirt and pants were stretched tightly over his frame, as if he were busting out the seams.

_My clothes…!_

Her anger brought her storming out, overshadowing any embarrassment of meeting the person who had just seen her naked.. She stepped in front of Kiba, set her hands up on her hips, took a deep breath, and stared him down.

"Kiba! Take my clothes off! Right now!" Ino puffed her chest out. The jacket that literally draped over her lessened the dramatic effect.

Ino narrowed her eyes. "You aren't wearing my…my…" She blushed. "My…undergarments, are you?"

Kiba was quick to shoot that down. "N-n-no! Never!"

"Where are they then?"

He pointed to a pile of clothes on the floor, where her shoes were stacked neatly in a square pile of other things she had left there too.

Ino was relieved. "Okay. Just change out of my clothes."

Kiba placed his hands up defensively. "Well…how should I do that…?"

Ino pointed her finger at a tent. "You can change in that tent. Give me back my clothes first, and I'll give you yours."

"Eh! How come me first!"

"Well you can't expect me to!"

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Kiba slumped his shoulders. This was hard to do however, as the nearly breaking fabric kept him constricted.

Kiba, unable to bend over, crawled into the tent. Akamaru followed him inside, taking up much of the room. He rustled within, trying to turn around enough so he could take off the clothes without making significant rips in the thin fabric.

In a few minutes, he was out of the Ino's clothes. He took them and thrust them out the tent flap with his hand only.

Outside, Ino gingerly took the clothes from Kiba's extended hand. She made sure her eyes were averted so she didn't accidentally peek inside. Holding her underwear and shoes, she ran back to her tent. In a speed that would win first place in any clothes-changing contest, she flashed into her own clothes like lightning.

"Ah, much better." She felt much safer in her own clothing.

Coming back out of the tent, she walked over to where Kiba's tent was and threw his clothes inside. A moment later, a clothed Kiba emerged, red-faced.

"So…" Ino began.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You won't try to blackmail me with this, will you?"

"Who do you think I am!"

"You."

"Who's me?"

"Kiba."

"And what am I like."

"Slightly annoying."

"And you aren't?"

"Not as much as you."

"You! Just because I li - " Kiba stopped before he spilled the beans.

"Dog caught your tongue?"

The debate lasted for a good while, the both stopping once they ran out of creative arguments. Kiba promised Ino that he would keep him seeing her naked a secret. And in return Ino promised not to kill him. In his mind, it was a fair deal.

Ino left for her tent, falling asleep as soon as her head was down. Even outside her snoring could be heard.

Kiba stood outside briefly before retreating back to his tent. He had planned to wait until Iko came back, but if he were going to come back later than it already was, then he didn't want to wait. Tired of everything that had happened today, Kiba leaned back inside his tent, used the warm and fluffy Akamaru as a pillow, and fell asleep.

* * *

_Kiba (In his sleep)_ : …purple…purple panties…

* * *


End file.
